The illumination of a photographic subject from the rear, causing edges to glow while other areas remain in shadow.
verb
present participle of backlight
backlings
backlisting
backlisting
verb
present participle of backlist
backloading
backloading
noun
(transport) The transportation of cargo or shipment on a return trip, using the space already paid for and used for the outward leg.
verb
present participle of backload
backlogging
backlogging
verb
present participle of backlog
backpedaling
backpedaling
noun
The act of distancing oneself from a previously supported idea, action, behaviour, etc.; a U-turn or flip-flop.
verb
(US) present participle of backpedal
backslapping
backslapping
noun
action of the verb to backslap
verb
present participle of backslap
backsliding
backsliding
adj
sliding back
noun
An occasion on which one backslides, especially in a moral sense.
verb
present participle of backslide
backslidingness
backsplicing
backsplicing
verb
present participle of backsplice
bechalking
bechalking
verb
present participle of bechalk
beckoningly
beckoningly
adv
So as to beckon or call near; enticingly.
becloaking
becloaking
verb
present participle of becloak
beflecking
beflecking
verb
present participle of befleck
billsticking
billsticking
noun
Synonym of billposting
blackballing
blackballing
noun
An instance, or action, of a person being blackballed
verb
present participle of blackball
blackbirding
blackbirding
noun
(UK, Australia) The practice of kidnapping Pacific Islanders, or kanakas, for sale as cheap labour.
verb
present participle of blackbird
blackening
blackening
noun
(countable) The result or an instance of such an act or process; a black stain or mark.
(uncountable) The act or process of turning (becoming) black in colour.
Any of various (dark-colored) surface treatments for metal substrates, to inhibit corrosion; on steel, generally, synonym of bluing.
The act of defaming or sullying.
verb
present participle of blacken
blackenings
blackenings
noun
plural of blackening
blackfigured
blackfishing
blackfishing
noun
(slang, of a non-black person) The practice of appropriating signifiers of black identity, such as darkening the skin, or wearing traditionally black hairstyles.
verb
present participle of blackfish
blackguardism
blackguardism
noun
Blackguardly behaviour or language.
blackguardize
blackguardize
verb
To make blackguardly.
blacking
blacking
noun
A boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.
A preparation, containing lampblack, used to produce a shiny black coating.
Shoe polish.
verb
present participle of black
blackings
blackings
noun
plural of blacking
blackington
blackjacking
blackjacking
verb
present participle of blackjack
blacklegging
blacklegging
noun
The practice of working in place of those who are engaged in a strike.
verb
present participle of blackleg
blacklegism
blacklegism
noun
The character or actions of a blackleg.
blacklight
blacklight
noun
Alternative form of black light (“ultraviolet bulb”)
blacklisting
blacklisting
noun
The act of placing onto a blacklist.
verb
present participle of blacklist
blackmailing
blackmailing
noun
The act of one who blackmails.
verb
present participle of blackmail
blacksmithing
blacksmithing
noun
the business of a blacksmith
verb
present participle of blacksmith
blacktopping
blacktopping
verb
present participle of blacktop
blackwashing
blackwashing
noun
(derogatory) The revisionist portrayal of something as belonging to a black race of people.
(derogatory) The revisionist portrayal of something as evil.
The application of a coating of blackwash.
verb
present participle of blackwash
blockaderunning
blockading
blockading
verb
present participle of blockade
blockbusting
blockbusting
adj
Having the characteristics of a blockbuster; hugely successful.
noun
(US) A technique used to encourage people to sell their property by giving the impression that a neighborhood is changing for the worse, especially by implying a change in its racial makeup.
blocking
blocking
noun
(computing) A feature that prevents a keyboard from registering multiple simultaneous keypresses that would cause ghosting.
Blocks used to support (a building, etc.) temporarily.
The act by which something is blocked; an obstruction.
The precise movement and positioning of actors in order to facilitate a performance (originally planned using miniature blocks).
verb
present participle of block
blockmaking
blockmaking
noun
The manufacture of blocks for use in printing.
The manufacture of nautical blocks.
bloodsucking
bloodsucking
adj
(by extension, of a person) parasitic, leechlike or freeloading
(of an insect or animal) That draws off the blood of another animal, or a person.
bloodsuckings
bluestocking
bluestocking
noun
(historical) A member of an 18th-century Blue Stockings Society.
(historical) The English parliament of 1653, more commonly called the Barebones Parliament
(usually derogatory) A scholarly, literary, or cultured woman.
bluestockingish
bluestockingish
adj
Like a bluestocking, or scholarly woman.
bluestockingism
bluestockingism
noun
(colloquial) The character or manner of a bluestocking; female pedantry.
bluestockings
bluestockings
noun
plural of bluestocking
bootlicking
bootlicking
noun
servile behaviour
verb
present participle of bootlick
bricklaying
bricklaying
noun
The act of building a wall by laying bricks, usually with cement between the surfaces of the bricks.
bricklayings
bricklayings
noun
plural of bricklaying
bricklining
bucklering
bucklering
verb
present participle of buckler
buckling
buckling
adj
Wavy; curly, as hair.
noun
(geology) A folding into hills and valleys.
A young male domestic goat of between one and two years.
Smoked herring.
The act of fastening a buckle.
The action of collapsing under pressure or stress.
verb
present participle of buckle
cabbagelike
cabbagelike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a cabbage.
cockbilling
cockbilling
verb
present participle of cockbill
deblocking
deblocking
verb
present participle of deblock
goldbrick
goldbrick
noun
(US, slang, dated) A shirker or malingerer.
(US, slang, dated) A swindler.
Something fraudulent or nonexistent offered for sale; a swindle or con.
verb
(US, slang, dated) To shirk or malinger.
(US, slang, dated) To swindle.
goldbricked
goldbricked
verb
simple past tense and past participle of goldbrick
goldbricker
goldbricker
noun
(US, informal) A lazy person; an idler.
goldbrickers
goldbrickers
noun
plural of goldbricker
goldbricking
goldbricking
verb
present participle of goldbrick
goldbricks
goldbricks
noun
plural of goldbrick
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of goldbrick
greenbackville
lampblacking
lampblacking
verb
present participle of lampblack
linebacking
linebacking
noun
(American football) Playing as a linebacker
linebackings
mecklenburgian
nonblocking
nonblocking
adj
(computing theory) That does not block; allowing other tasks to proceed immediately rather than having to wait for completion.
parbuckling
parbuckling
verb
present participle of parbuckle
preblockading
rebuckling
rebuckling
verb
present participle of rebuckle
roadblocking
roadblocking
verb
present participle of roadblock
slingback
slingback
noun
A type of women's shoe having a strap behind the heel or ankle
swashbucklering
swashbucklering
adj
Alternative form of swashbuckling
swashbuckling
swashbuckling
adj
Adventurous, exciting.
swashbucklings
ticklenburg
ticklenburg
noun
A coarse, mixed linen fabric made to be sold in the West Indies.